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Well, a lot depends on you and what you want to do. If you are just here to have a good time as a tourist, probably not, although as a foreigner you may fall into some of the more common traps, hook up with bad tour guides, hotels, etc., but that is part of the tourism experience.

But, if you want to live here, start a business, buy real estate, etc., don’t make the mistake of arrogantly thinking that you already know it all and you can apply your knowledge from back home and things will work out the same here, because they won’t.

Every country in the world is different, so the wise person will seek out the advice of a seasoned professional with years of experience. I am a naturalized Costa Rican who has live here almost 20 years, and I have “seen it all.” Most foreigners fall into certain traps without even realizing it. In fact, in certain expat circles there is a joke that says, “How do you make a million dollars in Costa Rica?”

“Bring two!”

Sadly, that is the unfortunate experience of many expats who think things work “just like home” and they can “cut corners” and “don’t need to pay attention to or learn about all those pesky rules and regulations.”

And for some, that works for a while, but the end is usually bad.

One of the first mistakes most make is that they think they can just go to the internet and “find a good lawyer.” In a foreign country, a good lawyer can be your best friend and a bad one can be your worst nightmare. I have gotten many calls from frantic expats who have just discovered that “their lawyer” had either stolen their property, their business, grossly overcharged, or just was a stupid idiot who got them in trouble.

Most of you will think I’m exaggerating, but I don’t do that, so if you do, put your money on the line and spin the wheel and see if that property is still yours in a couple of years. Or, you can pay a very inflated price for your residency only to have your high priced lawyer put it into a desk drawer for a year and forget to even submit it [true story]. With 70% of the lawyers here being either crooked or incompetent, your chances of getting a winning hand are low, but hey, hope springs eternal and you saved a few bucks by not using a consultant, so congrats on saving a few hundred dollars and losing a few hundred thousand!

Services

Legal Services: Residency, visas, corporations, real estate, gaming solutions, etc. You pay only the legal fees which won’t be any more than if you came through the lawyer’s door off the street. However, we monitor our lawyers on your behalf and assist you in the whole process, which is an added benefit. Also, we use different lawyers for different things depending on their area of expertise. So, instead of taking a chance on some law firm’s sales pitch, which may or may not be true, we as the Costa Rica experts can guide you safely through this mine field that the legal profession is in this country. And, most of the time, our lawyers charge less in addition to being more competent.

Buyer’s Broker Service: Most people are not aware of this, but a real estate or business broker works for the seller, not you. And things are even worse in this country where even a bus driver can call himself or herself a real estate broker. It’s literally a jungle out there, between crooked or ignorant brokers and corrupt or incompetent lawyers. It’s actually a miracle that there aren’t more problems than there are. However, with our Buyer’s Broker service we work for YOU, not the seller, so we can tell you the truth because we don’t have a commission depending on it, which is a huge conflict of interest if you think about it. Our fee will depend on the price of the property or business and how much work we need to do on your behalf, so we don’t have a fixed price. Many times the retainer is our total fee, but in more complicated cases we have to charge more. But, in any event, this service DOESN’T COST, it PAYS because it will keep you from falling into the common pitfalls people fall into here.

Business Services: We will help you to incorporate, get business licenses and permits find a local to either rent or buy, etc. In other words, everything you need to get up and running in paradise is at your finger tips. Also, we will give you our honest opinion of whether we think your idea will work here.

Fees: All legal fees pay for themselves. Buyer’s broker’s fees are 50% on start of work and 50% upon completion. If you just need regular advice, we charge an hourly rate of $200.00/hr. With a minimum retainer of $500.00 payable in advance and not refundable. We will be happy to answer your casual questions, but if it gets too involved we will need to have a retainer. We have been too lenient in the past and there have been those who have taken advantage of us. We understand that some people are just cheap skates and think they can get enough information for free to establish a business an a new life here successfully. Well, if that were true, why do about 50% of the people go home broke after a year? No, you smart move is to consult with us and we will be able to tell quickly if Costa Rica is the right fit for you or not. Some people love Costa Rica and other people hate it and normally you don’t know until you try. But we can consult with you and are pretty accurate in predicting which you are, which could save you a lot of time and bother if you are in the 50% that can’t adapt.

You may pay our fees via local bank deposit, wire transfer, US check drawn on a US bank, Bitcoin, or, if you need to pay via credit card or bank transfer, Payza.

Offshoring, Call Center Recruitment, Call Center Fullfilment, etc: Offshoring tasks to call centers, video producers, marketing professionals, etc., is the job of our sister website Virtual Outsourcing Solutions. Whether you want to hire one in home virtual assistant or want us to find you a whole call center to take care of your large project, we can help. For a fee we can evaluate what the call centers are offering you and tell you if they will be reliable to work with or not. We can also recruit those hard to find in home workers you may need on a temporary or permanent basis. Go to the website above for more details, or use the contact button on this website to send us your specific questions. Businesses around the world are finding outsourcing the best way to go. But it’s not just for the big guys anymore. Let us help.

Software Development, web design, IT consulting: Many large software and hardware companies have located in Costa Rica. Thus, it’s a great place to find such professionals at a lower price than onshore. Also, Costa Rica based developers are easier to manage than those in India or elsewhere because of similar cultural background.